


All Through The Night

by Rhe



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, Canon-Typical Violence, Gamzee Makara and Karkat Vantas Moirallegiance, Gen, Language, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-03-06 15:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3139415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhe/pseuds/Rhe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're not sure what made the drone come after you today of all days. You've been expecting something like this to happen your entire life, of course, since you realized your mutant blood marked you as dysfunctional as a whole. It's something you've tried to overcome for as long as you can remember. Deep down you knew things would never work out the way you wanted, and that you would die facing a culling fork.</p><p>Just because you knew it was going to happen this way isn't making it any easier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Through The Night

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift fic for tumblr user LemonOfGrab for the Homestuck Secret Santa. Unfortunately my computer decided to stop working on Christmas Eve, so here is the belated first chapter of their gift! Hopefully my computer will return from the shop soon and I'll be able to get this completed. Until then, enjoy!

“Holy shit _fuck_!” You narrowly dodge a laser blast aimed at your midsection, able to smell the sharp tang of ozone as you hit the ground and roll to the side, fingers scrabbling at the dirt in your haste to get moving again. Out of the corner of your eye you can see smoke rising from a charred fist-sized pit.

 _Only in my fucking piece of shit life_ , you think as you weave between the trees of the thick forest you were strife training in before the drone showed up, _would a fuck up of these colossal proportions come out of a training run_.

Because that’s all you were supposed to be doing out here, your thinkpan bitterly reminds you. It wasn’t supposed to be a bad idea to head out into the woods a few miles from your hive and strife with some trees and maybe some of the myriad monsters lurking out there. It’s actually easier to do your strife training out here now, thanks to your recent growth spurts (doing your best moves with a nearly six-foot armspan indoors is almost impossible), and with ascension coming within the next sweep you want to be prepared for… whatever the hell will happen to you then. Despite what Sollux says about you training out here you’ve never had a problem.

Until now, of course.

You duck beneath some low-hanging branches and barely catch yourself before falling. The ground here is getting a lot rockier, and that makes running fast enough to stay one step ahead of the drone a bitch. It isn’t shooting at you right now (you guess it can’t lock on very well in all these trees) but you can still hear the dull, incessant near-buzzing noise of it following close behind. Movies don’t do the sound justice, you think, and your pan throbs in agreement. There’s something about the sound that makes your skin crawl and your limbs weak, but sheer panic-fueled adrenaline keeps you going.

You're not sure what made the drone come after you today of all days. You've been expecting something like this to happen your entire life, of course, since you realized your mutant blood marked you as dysfunctional as a whole. It's something you've tried to overcome for as long as you can remember - the strife training, the devotion to the Empire as a whole, even your dream of becoming a Threshecutioner - it was all in the hope of somehow making your blood a non-issue. Deep down you knew things would never work out the way you wanted, and that you would die facing a culling fork.

Just because you knew it was going to happen this way isn't making it any easier.

By this time you're breathing hard and in unfamiliar territory. You’ve been pretty deep into these woods on your strife practice outings, but in your desperate escape attempt you’ve far surpassed the boundaries of known forest. You’re dimly aware of the fact that you’ve been running for miles, but things like time and distance are nebulous an unimportant to your pan right now. Surviving is all that matters now, and though your limbs and lungs burn you keep moving.

Despite your height and bulk you have pretty good stamina, but even that's wearing thin now. You risk a glance over your shoulder and your bloodpusher leaps into your throat when you catch sight of the drone not far behind you, flickering in and out of view through the thinning foliage. The thinning foliage doesn’t bode well for you. The only reason you’ve been able to outpace the drone this long is because of the forest – it can’t fly properly in here, but if you run out of forest it should have no problem. General knowledge says that drones aren’t great fliers, but even a not-great flier can catch an exhausted troll with little issue.

You bank to the left and start heading uphill, where the trees are smaller but there are more of them, and over the droning hum that’s boring its way into your skull you hear the sound of rushing water. You vaguely remember seeing a river far southeast from your hive on the last map you glanced over, and figure you must be getting close to that. _Not that it matters_ , you think as you duck under another branch. You’re going to die today anyway. That thought alone almost makes you want to give up and just let the drone finish things, but the sound of another laser blast makes your feet move fractionally faster despite your mental turmoil.

The hill you’ve been running up has gotten suddenly steeper, and you’re bent almost in half to scramble up it as fast as possible, and as you hear the buzz of the drone getting louder you hardly notice the fact that the sound of water is getting louder too, and as you lurch over the rocky top of the hill you launch into thin air.

Your hands grasp for ground that’s no longer there and your acid sack lurches with the sudden feeling of weightlessness.

You barely have time to catch a breath before hitting the water below, and the force with which you hit the water knocks the wind out of you. The current is fast, faster than any you’ve ever felt, and it rushes you away and tumbles you head over heels beneath its surface. You thrash wildly to try and find the surface – you need air, you need to breathe right _now_ – and by some miracle you manage to pop up long enough to suck in a lungful of air before being dunked under again.

You struggle against the current to try and right yourself again and for your efforts you’re slammed into something hard, midsection first, which firmly solidifies the fact that it’s universe’s desire that you should never breathe again, ever, and also makes you want to be sick. You instinctively try to curl in on yourself, but the object you hit is in the way and suddenly jolts forward.

For a second you’re terrified that you’ve awoken some horrible lakebeast to finish off your string of horrible luck for the night, but as you and the object you’re pressed against rise to the surface you realize it’s a log and you’re so glad you didn’t get the chance to shove away from it.

Clinging to the log like it’s your lusus, you manage to keep your head above the water and take a deep breath. It hurts like hell and you have to cough after (which also hurts like hell) but it’s a good hurt. It feels like being alive.

Your thinkpan goes back to the drone once you start breathing regularly again, and you look over the log anxiously. The water’s too loud for you to hear any kind of buzzing, and you half expect the drone to be right on top of you. When you look around, though, it’s nowhere to be seen. There are just sheer cliff walls with scraggly vegetation scattered about and the rushing water carrying you far away from where you fell. You aren’t sure, but it looks like the river took you around a bend and now you’re out of sight, unless the drone wants to come down here and follow the river. The thought of that worries you, but you just hunker back down for the ride and hope there’s a place you can get out of the water soon.

As it turns out, there isn’t a place you can get out of the water until one of the moons has passed above the narrow strip of sky you could see from your limited view between the cliff walls. It feels like an eternity of freezing your ass off, but finally the river widens and slows and the walls gradually give way to hills. Wearily, you paddle your way over to the shore and flop out, feeling very much like a drowned purrbeast. You lie on the rocky bank and just breathe, staring up at the sky above you.

It’s good to be alive.

Your reverie is cut short by a pinging noise that startles you so badly you sit straight up and are prepared to start running again, when you realize two things:

One: there is no way in hell you’re running anywhere right now, and two: that pinging noise was awfully familiar.

You reach a shaking hand down your leg and unbutton your pocket, pulling out your palmhusk and looking it over. You’re amazed it survived the fall, but it seems fine, and is alerting you of someone messaging you on Trollian. It sure is a good thing Trollkind prioritizes making electronics that work even when submerged in water.

You unlock the screen and open the Trollian screen, hoping that it’s Sollux and that he’ll be able to help you find the best route back to your hive. Or possibly will fly out here and then fly you back to your hive, though you have no idea how far away from him you are, and also think it’s kind of unlikely that he’d want to do that.

When you see who’s messaging you, though, you feel like the universe is definitely having a good time fucking you over today. He’s probably the most useless person who could be trolling you are this moment. It looks like he’s been trying to contact you for a while, but it’s not like you could hear the pings while your palmhusk was underwater.

terminallyCapricious [TC] has started trolling carcinoGeneticist [TG]

[TC] hEeEy BeSt FrIeNd, WhAt'S sHaKiN'? :o)

[TC] yOu BeEn IdLe FoR a LoNg TiMe NoW aNd A mOtHeRfUcKeR cAn'T hElP bUt GeT hIs WoNdEr On To WhAt'S bEiNg KeEpInG yOu So LoNg.

[TC] YoU tHeRe?

[TC] HeLlOoOoO?

[TC] kArKaT aRe YoU oKaY? :o(

[CG] OH MY GOD, GAMZEE.

[CG] IT WOULD BE YOU. YOU WOULD BE THE ONE TO TRY AND CONTACT ME WHILE I AM LITERALLY IN THE WORST POSSIBLE SCENARIO A TROLL COULD EVER FUCKING BE IN.

[CG] I HAVE BEEN LITERALLY RUNNING FOR MY LIFE.

[CG] RUNNING FOR THE SOLE REASON OF CONTINUING MY HORRIBLE FUCKING EXISTANCE, WHO KNOWS WHY I DIDN'T JUST LET IT END WHILE I HAD THE CHANCE.

[CG] THERE WAS FATE BEING LIKE "HEY KARKAT, I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOUR DUMBFUCK SELF, TIME TO TAKE YOU OUT INTO THE WOODS AND PUT YOU OUT OF YOUR MISERY!"

[CG] BUT NO. I RAN, BECAUSE WHAT THE FUCK ELSE DO YOU DO WHEN THERE'S AN IMPERIAL DRONE COMING AT YOU?

[TC] tHeRe YoU aRe!

[TC] Uh...? I tHiNk I aIn'T rEaLlY kEePiNg WiTh WhAt YoU'rE mOtHeRfUcKiNg SaYiNg?

[CG] NO, YOU ARE INDEED HEARING ME CORRECTLY.

[CG] OR READING ME CORRECTLY, OR WHATEVER! I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FUCK GAMZEE.

[CG] I WAS JUST CHASED THROUGH THE WOODS BY AN IMPERIAL FUCKING DRONE , THEN DID A MAGNIFICENT FUCKING SWANDIVE OFF OF A CLIFF INTO AN ASSHOLE RIVER THAT BOUNCED ME AROUND LIKE A PINBALL AND SOMEHOW I AM STILL HERE TO BELABOR YOUR GANDERSPHERES WITH MY WORDS.

[CG] THE WORLD DECIDED SHE STILL WANTED KARKAT VANTAS, PROFESSIONAL SHITSTAIN INHABITING HER FETID LANDSCAPE.

[TC] KaRkAt!

[TC] ArE yOu Up AnD bEiNg OkAy?

[CG] OF COURSE I'M OKAY, I'M JUST PEACHY HERE, LYING ON THE RIVERBANK NEXT TO SAID ASSHOLE RIVER BUT THAT'S OKAY, IT SAVED MY LIFE AND I GUESS BEGGERS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS. IT WILL PROBABLY BE FUCKING UNCOMFORTABLE AFTER A WHILE BUT IT WILL BE AN "ALIVE" UNCOMFORTABLE AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS. I GUESS. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT NOW THAT I’M STILL ALIVE. IT’S LIKE BEING IN TROLL FINAL DESTINATION, AND I FUCKING HATED ALL OF THOSE MOVIES AND I HATE TEREZI FOR TELLING ME TO WATCH THEM. I ALSO HATE PAST ME FOR LISTENING TO HER, BUT THAT’S A MATTER FOR A DIFFERENT TIME.

[CG] I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THE FUCK I AM AND I’M FUCKING FREEZING AND NO OFFENCE BUT I WAS HOPING FOR SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET ME OUT OF THIS SITUATION. YOU KNOW, SOMEONE COMPETENT.

 [TC] I aIn'T kNoWiNg WhErE yOu'Re At BuT iF yOu WaNt YoU cAn Be CoMiNg OuT tO mY hIvE aNd Be StAyInG hErE fOr ThE dAy Or As LoNg As YoU bE nEeDiNg.

You read these words and stop yourself before you can type out a blistering response listing all the reasons why that's a bad idea. (You may still list off all the reasons why it's a bad idea, but are willingly suspending your fucking disbelief for this chucklefuck's proposition).

Gamzee, oddball and worst best friend ever he may be, is a highblood who's inexplicably taken a liking to you ever since you cussed him out on Trollian after he randomly happened across your handle and sent you a rambling message about how beautiful life and "the miracles" were at 4 sweeps old. He's messaged you pretty regularly since then, and you have to admit he's pretty okay. For an annoying fuck that may be even more obnoxious than you are, albeit in strange, slightly incomprehensible ways.

Most importantly, Gamzee is a highblood. Even if the drone does manage to chase you or figure out where you've gone, if it sees Gamzee it should buzz off. He's high enough on the spectrum to warrant respect, and it should assume he's not the troll it's looking for and be right on its way.

[TC] yOu StIlL tHeRe BrO?

[CG] YES I'M STILL HERE.

[CG] WHERE THE FUCK WOULD I BE, GAMZEE? I JUST TOLD YOU I'M LYING ON A SHITTY RIVERBED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GODFORSAKEN WILDERNESS.

[CG] IT’S NOT LIKE I CAN JUST RUN OFF TO GRAB A BITE TO EAT OR SOMETHING.

[TC] i KnOw, I wAs JuSt MoThErFuCkInG wOrRiEd SoMeThInG hApPeNeD. :o(

[CG] DON'T MAKE THAT SAD FUCKING CLOWN FACE AT ME.

[CG] ANYWAY, BACK TO THE SITUATION AT HAND. SAY I DID WANT TO TAKE YOU UP ON YOUR OBVIOUSLY NOT OFFERED IN THE RIGHT STATE OF MIND OFFER. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HARBOR SOMEONE IN YOUR HIVE THAT A DRONE IS AFTER? BECAUSE THAT SEEMS LIKE A HORRIBLE IDEA AND JUST THE SORT OF THING SOME PAN-DEAD CLOWN WOULD OFFER RIGHT BEFORE THE DRONES COME FOR HIM TOO.

[TC] nOt LiKe I'd OfFeR FoR aNy MoThErFuCkEr BuT yOu, BrOtHeR. i DoN't WaNt No BaD cOmInG yOuR wAy.

This makes you pause again and feel sort of conflicted. First off, this is coming dangerously close to being touching, and also possibly romantic. Secondly, you feel like sort of an asshole for using him. He's always been way too open and friendly for a troll and this just confirms your theory that he's going to get in trouble for it one day.

[CG] THAT'S... NICE, I GUESS. BUT SERIOUSLY, ARE YOU SURE? I MEAN, EVEN IF BY SOME MIRACLE YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH FOR ME TO GET TO AND I MANAGE TO FIND MY WAY THERE THIS ISN'T WITHOUT RISK OF GRAVE FUCKING BODILY HARM TO YOU.

[TC] I aIn'T aFrAiD oF nO dRoNe.

[TC] LeMmE sEnD yOu My CoOrDiNaTeS aNd We CaN gEt ThIs MiRaClE uP aNd MoThErFuCkInG sTaRtEd!

[CG] I FUCKING WALKED RIGHT INTO THAT ONE.

[CG] FIRE AWAY WITH THE COORDINATES, I GUESS.

He sends you the coordinates and you input them into the wayfinding feature on your palmhusk. You almost catch yourself praying to some nonspecific deity to make Gamzee's shitty miracle happen, but you stop yourself. Miracles are stupid and so are gods.

When the wayfinder blinks and shows you that it's less than a half a night's walk from where you are right now (bless satellite GPS for knowing where the fuck you are; you sure wouldn't without it).

[CG] WHAT THE FUCK. I CAN MAKE IT TO YOUR HIVE BEFORE SUNRISE IF I MOVE MY ASS QUICK ENOUGH. JUST, WHAT THE FUCK GAMZEE, I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS ACTUALLY MIGHT WORK.

[CG] I'M GETTING OFF OF THIS GODFORSAKEN ROCK MATTRESS AND I'M COMING OVER THERE. NOTHING IS GOING TO STOP ME, I'M ON A MOTHERFUCKING MISSION.

[TC] :o) hOnK!

[CG] I WILL GRACIOUSLY ASSUME THAT MEANS YOU'RE FUCKING EXCITED TO SEE ME AND HOPE I DON'T GET CULLED ON THE WAY THERE, WHICH WOULD BE A DISAPPOINTMENT TO BOTH OF US, ESPECIALLY ME.

[CG] SEE YOU SOON, I GUESS.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] has ceased trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]


End file.
